Barça's present and Real Madrid's future
The Copa del Rey basketball final at the Wizink Center in Madrid crowned Sarunas Jasikevicius' Barça. The earthquake that the club is experiencing has found some sporting stability in football and basketball. In Koeman and Jasikevicius there are two banners where the flag can fly. Futsal crowns them in Europe and handball is still on a military parade.
Nobody remembers the summer criticism when they signed Calathes. About the salary bleeding with guys like Mirotic or Higgins. The economic management of the club has been very bad, the figures are there, but on the sporting side there was no excuse for not winning. The crisis with Heurtel was resolved just as badly as it was done in the offices. But the ingredients were good and so was the conductor of the orchestra. The team chemistry that makes great squads work was missing. And the fuse was lit in the Copa del Rey.
Barça played the final in the semi-finals. It happens in many sports. There are previous games that are more difficult than the one that crowns you as the champion. The game against Unicaja was very intense. Defences were lost on the court and the fans enjoyed the game on TV, which ended 103-93. Real Madrid dispatched a tough Valencia side who were eager to spring a surprise. Deck and Thompkins led their team, although the big moment came at the end. Pablo Laso overtook Lolo Sainz as the coach who has coached Real Madrid the most games with 735.
A historic coach who has an expiry date if Florentino Pérez fails to stop him. Felipe Reyes and Jaycee Carroll will not continue to play for Real Madrid. Garuba could be heading to the NBA. Laprovittola would be sacrificed if the arrival of Heurtel, who licks his wounds in basketball limbo, is closed. The castle that King Pablo has built could collapse at the speed at which it fell down in the final against Barça.
No matter how many problems the Whites had, there were no excuses. Llull did not justify the defeat on anything other than the game. Neither the lack of Rudy Fernández, nor the injuries. For Sergio Llull there is a squad. But there is no future at all.
On the court, Barca's switching defence gave Madrid a lot of problems. They were poor from three-point range (7/27) and Barça destroyed them on the offensive rebound (15 for Real Madrid and 26 for Barça). Laso's team need the three-point shots and the rebounding to be able to run, have fluency in attack and energy to defend. The blue-and-white team did not allow them to do so. Jasikevicius set up the switching defence, took advantage of defensive mismatches and caused the two-on-one. The steamroller passed in the first quarter and left with the job done at the end of the last half with everything decided.
The title is something more for both sides. It gives Barcelona some hope weeks before the elections and an uncertain future for the sections. Basketball will not be in danger, but the cuts will come because the club is an unviable business. It will be a boost for the ACB and for holding on to the lead in the Euroleague.
It is a wake-up call for Real Madrid. The future is compromised. If the departure of Sergio Ramos is even necessary, the departure of Laso could be a drama. Florentino Pérez always comes up with the numbers. He may not know football, he may not know basketball, but he knows how not to keep a company afloat. Basketball things are simpler and less mediatic. The salary cuts have also reached the section and it will be noticed in Llul's renewal... and in that of Pablo Laso?
The coach's contract should not overshadow the problem of squad regeneration. Real Madrid must cover many profiles. Look for players and make them fit the shirt. Join the dots between them and follow their leader. Team sport does not mean names. If the group works, everything is easier. Charlemagne once said, "I have learned much more from my one defeat than from all my victories".
